Summer could be very lovely on the subtropical island. One of the favorite activities for teenagers was to ride on bicycles strolling around town and bathe themselves in the warm sunshine and the balmy breeze. It was one of those enjoyable Sunday afternoons when I bumped into my uncle and his friends during a bicycle ride. My youngest uncle was only three years older than I was and was attending the Chien-Kuo High School (the best boys high school in the nation) at that time. I was excited to have an opportunity to meet my uncle's schoolmates -- a bunch of boys! While he was introducing me to his friends, he said smilingly, "This is the little pig in my family!" He thought he was joking, but I took it very seriously. In fact I was extremely hurt. I went home crying alone for hours.
When I finally stopped crying, I made a vow, "I'm going to change my fate! I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired! I'm going to lose weight and look good!" This was the summer of 1964.
Since I was a young kid, I had learned the fact that "if one wants to be successful, just follow the footsteps of those who are already successful." So, I began to observe people. There were thin Chinese people and there were fat Chinese people. I wondered what made them different.
Pretty soon I figured out one interesting phenomenon: thin Chinese people tended to be the people from southern China who relied on rice as the main grain; while fat Chinese people tended to be the people from northern China who relied on wheat as the main grain. I began to wean myself from eating the wheat products such as "Bau Tsu" and "Mang Toa" (wheat dumplings), "Mein" (wheat noodles), and all the wheat breads, wheat cookies, Chinese wheat pancakes, and so forth and so on. Instead, I began to eat more rice products. Luckily, being a Taiwanese, it was not difficult to find rice products such as rice noodles, Chinese rice cakes and rice pastries. Several months into my new eating habits, I noticed that my clothes began to hang loose around my waistline. I was losing weight!
The excitement of this success prompted me to continue my secret experiment. Knowing that heavy sugar consumption would give me a horrible sore throat, I began to wean myself from sugar as well. Although there was hidden sugar in a lot of foods, I consciously avoided candies and brown sugar -- they used to be my all-time favorite! Then I noticed my weight dropped some more!
Slowly but surely, I discovered that weaning myself from dairy, yeast, alcohol and caffeine were also helpful in reducing my weight. Some interesting side benefits were that my mind was getting more consistently clear; I was able to breathe better; I had more energy; I was not always as bloated as I used to be; I experienced less headaches and less episodes of painful and itchy eczema; and most of all, I felt more like a human being! For the first time I felt my head was well planted on my body!
This was a lonely and lengthy process. From 1964 to 1966 (the year I graduated from high school), I lost quite a bit of weight. I began to see curves on my body. However, I was still plump. The following four years in the university, I experienced some minor ups and downs, but for the most part, I continued to lose kilos and inches. The most significant transformation during those four years was psychological in nature. This included defining the purpose and directions in my life, releasing a lot of anger and resentment toward my parents and stabilizing my identity and image.
As mentioned previously, I marginally made entry into the National Taiwan University with the 1966 entrance exam. Even though it was good for my ego that I was in the top university at that time, I was not satisfied with the fact that my scores placed me in the School of Nursing instead of the School of Pharmacy which was my first choice. Since I had been raised on herbs, I always had the ambition to use pharmaceutical technology to advance the use of herbs for human health.
The university policy allowed transfer to a desired department if the student had outstanding academic performance for the first year. I worked extremely hard during my first year in the School of Nursing. Consequently, I got the highest grades in the class and was eligible to transfer to either the School of Pharmacy or the School of Medicine. I was then faced with a very difficult decision. The whole society in Taiwan was status conscious. A medical doctor held more prestige than a pharmacist or a nurse and a pharmacist was regarded as superior to a nurse. After having a taste of the nursing career, I knew that among the three disciplines, nursing was the best one to allow me to work with people. From my observation, the medical doctors were often too busy to mingle with patients, and the pharmacists usually worked with drugs behind the counter, not directly with patients. My true love was to work with people on both physical and psychological aspects. The only field that would satisfy my need and desire was psychiatric/mental health nursing! So, I stayed in the School of Nursing for another three years.
Once the decision was made, I launched a vigorous study of body, mind and spirit. I was like a sponge soaking in a lot of knowledge, skill and experience to prepare myself to be a good psychiatric/mental health nurse. This was the time I was reintroduced to Buddhism. As a kid, I was raised in an environment where my paternal side of the family mostly believed in Taoism and my maternal side of the family strictly believed in Buddhism. Most families believed in both Buddhism and Taoism and had hard times telling the difference between the two. After joining the Buddhist Society at the National Taiwan University, I had an opportunity to learn what Buddhism was all about. I had learned that Buddhism was actually a school of philosophy and a way of life. It was not a religion as most people would think. Since then my life was basically guided by the philosophy and doctrine of Buddhism. This has enabled me to understand the rule of karma (cause-effect relationship) and reincarnation (multiple lives).
I was enlightened by this understanding. I began to understand why I suffered so much since the time I was born. There was a purpose. Although I was not very clear about the exact purpose of these experiences, I knew that as time went by, things would unfold slowly but surely. Consequently, I stopped feeling sorry for myself. I knew that if I wanted to see positive results, I had to plant positive seeds. I was the one who was in charge of my destiny, my karma!
The understanding of karma also helped me release anger and resentment toward my parents. For a while I felt ashamed of my undereducated parents. They both had received only elementary school education during the Japanese occupation. Consequently, they did not even speak Mandarin. They spoke only Taiwanese and Japanese. I used to envy my classmates whose parents were well educated and sophisticated. When I saw a classmate hooking her arm into her father's as they shopped in the open market where my parents and I sold vegetables, my heart ached with envy. I felt deprived of that fatherly love. My father was a farmer and a small merchant working hard all the time to make ends meet. My mother assisted my father to support the family of five children. No time and no money for leisure! I felt deprived and stuck!
After I understood that we each brought karma with us when we were born in order to learn the lessons we had to learn, I began to come to terms with my fate! I realized that my parents had their karma to live through and I shared the common karma with them because I had to learn certain lessons in order for me to grow and expand. I began to look at the positive sides of my parents' lives and behavior. I was amazed to find out that my father, despite being undereducated, was a leader in our community! He was the chief of the "volunteer police" who patrolled the community during theft-active seasons such as Chinese New Year. As a result of his effort, the early morning theft (between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.) during the holidays was greatly reduced. Even though he had a hot temper, he was well liked by people in the village.
My mother, even though never formally trained, was a good cook, good seamstress and a good farmer. She was also known to be very kind and generous to other people.
Slowly but surely, I began to discover the legacy my parents had left for me. As a result, my anger and resentment were gradually replaced with appreciation and respect. They were the "nameless heroes!"
As I began to appreciate my parents, I also began to appreciate myself. For years I used to believe that I was short and not attractive. After I entered the university, despite the fact that I was still working on my weight, I often got the comments that I was pretty, petite, cute and talented. Slowly but surely, I allowed these praises to sink in and to work for me. Consequently, I began to blossom. Some of my notable achievements were: frequent appearances of my articles in the medical journal published by the students and faculty at the National Taiwan University College of Medicine; produced, directed and acted in three comedy shows to welcome the new students; and most all, in 1968 co-founded the first community mental health center in Taiwan. These activities had helped establish my image as a multifaceted and multitalented individual. The most satisfying part was that I realized I was a resource to the community and I was making a contribution to society!
My favorite activities during those trying years were walking, hiking, bicycling and swimming. These healthy activities helped keep my mind and body active and in good balance. I also learned how to meditate. That was one of the most beneficial things I ever learned in my life. Meditating daily for 20 to 30 minutes helped me focus on my goals and maintain a positive attitude.
By 1970, when I graduated from the National Taiwan University School of Nursing, I had shed a total of 50 pounds. I began to look like a model. In fact, my aunt was a model at that time, and I often inherited fancy clothes from her. It took me a total of six years to accomplish that! Since then, I have maintained my measurements at 34-24-34 for the past 25 years except the two times I was pregnant with my children! To this day, I can still fit into my 25-year-old miniskirts nicely. Being free of yeast-disorder symptoms, people say that I look 15 years younger than my age. Yes, I look young and I feel young. I look sexy and I feel sexy. The curse was finally broken and remains that way for good!
What did it take to break the curse? As you can see, it was the combination of the anti-yeast nutritional program, Chinese herbal therapy, stress management, deep emotional releasing, regular exercise and learning to accept and love yourself and others, especially your parents!
By sharing my story with you, I am basically "tossing the brick to induce jade." The chapters that follow will give you a more in-depth discussion on symptoms of yeast disorders, their causes and treatments
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216 Pages, Softbound
ISBN: 1-890421-01-4